Medieval minting in Czech Silesia
Silver Denarii
The first purely Czech coins were minted under Boleslav I (935–972). One denarius was enough for one person to live for a month.
Bracteates (lat. bractea = leaf, figuratively thin plate)
Single-sided minted coins were introduced into circulation by Přemysl Otakar I (1197–1230). At the time of validity, they were called denarii (as well as the currency they replaced). The designation bracteate dates back to the 17th century.
Groschens
In 1300, Wenceslas II introduced a monetary or coinage reform, when, in addition to the previous denarii (which had already been losing their popularity), he introduced silver Prague groschens (1 groschen equalled 12 denarii). Czech groschens were called Prague groschens, even though they were minted in Kutná Hora in the central mint. From the 14th century, the Prague groschens became the basis of the currency used in Silesia as well.
- From 2–3 tracts of fields, the yield was 3–5 threescores of Prague groschens
- A tract is a unit of surface area ranging from 18 to 27.9 ha (there were several types of tracts, e.g. land, royal, peasant)
- 1 threescore= 60 pcs, i.e. 5 dozen units
- In the 15th century, a solid house in Prague cost around 40 Prague groschens
- Up to 8 riding horses could be purchased for 2-3 threescores
Ducats (Czech Golden)
They were valid at the same time as groschen. It was a gold coin that John of Luxembourg began minting under the name florin. Ducats were part of the thaler currency. They were minted as trade coins and expressed state sovereignty, in addition, they were a popular donation coin and served the population to deposit savings in gold. The first ducats were minted in honour of St. Wenceslas from gold mined in Roudné na Podblanicku and in the famous Kremnica Mint as early as in the 14th century.
Thalers
On the European market, it is marked as a goldsmith's groschen from the St. Joachim Valley = Joachimsthaler Gildengrosch in German. In 1519, Louis Jagiellon (1516–1526), and a year later the Czech Land Assembly, authorized the noble Schlick family to perform minting. The term thaler was first used for Jáchymov mintage, but, during the 1520s, the Jáchymov mint supplied coins to the international currency market in such quantities that the term thaler became a general term for large silver coins.
The earliest mention of the Opava mint dates from 1269 (it used to be located on the site of today's Koruna Hotel). The first Opava mint master was a man called Hennig, and, based on indirect evidence, bracteates were minted there. The first verifiable mintages of the Opava mint are the hallers of Přemek of Opava (+ 1433). After the reform made by Wenceslas II (1300), the mint was abolished and the minting of coins was concentrated in Kutná Hora. In Opava, coinage was not resumed until the reign of Prince Nicholas II in the 1330s at the latest. Coins were also in circulation in Silesia in the second half of the 14th century; they were minted not only in the Principality of Opava but also in the Principality of Raciborz. The haller of Prince Przemysław I Noszak (1332/36–1410), an important diplomat and ally of Charles IV and Wenceslas IV, is considered the oldest known Těšín coinage.